


The Cabinet of Curiosities

by hamykia



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Anxiety, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Magic, Rapunzel Elements, Rating May Change, References to Depression, Sleeping Beauty Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-01-09 12:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12276630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamykia/pseuds/hamykia
Summary: Victor's silver hair has made him the most renowned wonder in the cabinet of Yakov Feltsman, but it hasn't made him happy.New wonders come and go, but Victor stays knowing that he'll be safe as long as he is part of the cabinet.What he doesn't know is that he's not as safe as he thinks, because a certain dark-eyed boy may appear to tangle things up.





	1. The Spiderweb

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CullinanKatsudon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CullinanKatsudon/gifts).



> It's been a year since Yuri on Ice's first episode aired!  
> A couple of months later, I started thinking about writing a Fairytale AU, but it never happened.  
> Life, work and university conspired to make it impossible, and then there were a ton of wonderful Fairytale AUs everywhere, but the amazing CullinanKatsudon encouraged me to share mine anyway and join the fun, so I decided to do it for her birthday.  
> It was a while ago, but today I wanted to share it with you all to celebrate YOI's anniversary, so here we are!  
> Hope you enjoy it! (Especially you, CullinanKatsudon, since this is for you ^^)

Once upon a time, in the cold Kingdom of Ingria, there was a cabinet of curiosities so extensive that it covered the whole ballroom at one of the largest palaces in the world. This unique cabinet is still known as the finest and most vivid to ever exist, for it didn’t consist entirely of objects, dead plants and stuffed animals. Rather, its popularity stemmed from the few living curiosities that decorated the sumptuous room.

Travellers from all around the world queued to witness the cabinet’s magic firsthand, and they were never disappointed. Even locals weren’t immune to the cabinet’s wonders, and the Royal Family counted themselves among its most powerful patrons and benefactors. As the true owner of the palace, the Queen had the right to visit whenever she so desired. Sometimes the visits were private, but most of them were state visits designed to impress diplomats and heads of state. When the audience was too large, the living curiosities would prepare an outdoors exhibition to honour the kingdom that had accepted their people when others would have feared and killed them.

One day, the Queen requested an exhibition so ostentatious that it would leave the diplomatic corps of the isolated Wakoku Empire standing in awe. The palace had to close for two weeks in order to finish the preparations on time. Every display and tapestry were thoroughly cleaned, all the corners of the palace were filled with the most delicate candles, and tents for refreshments and entertainers were built in the gardens. The old sign by the entrance was replaced with a bigger one that announced all the marvellous wonders the visitors would find inside, including their new bearman, an evil witch, a strong-woman, a miniature tiger, and their most popular attraction: the man with hair made of silver.

When the day of the visit arrived, Mr. Yakov, the cabinet master, gathered the living curiosities for his customary speech. Like every time, Yakov tried to stress how important their exhibition was for the future of the kingdom, but only a couple of them ever listened, and no one believed the words anyway. As soon as the speech concluded, they all left for the training grounds for the rest of the morning. Only a young man called Victor remained inside the empty room looking morosely out the window. The room was soon filled with the echoes of his sighs, until Victor finally took his silver hair and himself to the ebony powder room upstairs. Yakov had insisted on this being the greatest exhibition of the year, and Victor’s preparations included brushing his hair for several hours. Everything had to be perfect if they wanted to impress the Emperor and his retinue so much that they would sign any treaty placed in front of them. It had never been mentioned explicitly by Yakov or the Queen, but Victor believed this to be the true purpose of their spectacle.

The new recruits seemed excited about the whole affair, and that somehow made Victor feel old and lonely. He tried to recall the last time he’d felt nervous before a performance, but he couldn’t remember feeling anything at all in ages. Victor knew it hadn’t been like that at the beginning, but time and routine had made his memories as blunt and lifeless as his present. He had been the first living wonder in Yakov’s cabinet, and he was thankful. Shunned by his family because of what his unusual hair represented, and deemed as a monster by those who should have cared for him, Victor had found in Yakov both the saviour and the father he so desperately needed. The strict but gracious Queen of Ingria had been compassionate enough to accept Victor as part of the cabinet, and soon the palace had become home and haven to all kinds of magical outcasts. Year after year, new performers arrived looking for safety or a steady income. And they found what they were looking for, as long as they didn’t mind being put on display for the world to see. Most of the wonders left after a while, once they found a real job, love, or just a place where they could be free. Victor’s fame granted him more gold and admirers than all the other wonders put together, but it also meant that he would never be free or safe outside the palace grounds.

As he disposed his hair around the powder room, he realized how dull and repetitive it would be to do this for the rest of his life. But his hair was all Victor was, and he had accepted his fate long ago. His whole life revolved around it, and he wouldn’t know what to do without his silver hair, so he just kept letting it grow even when he had to use a trolley to carry it around, and when he had to spend hours untangling and burnishing every single hair. He was still working on it when Georgi, the man who acted as the evil witch in their performances, entered the room with a tray of fruit.

“Lunch time is over,” he said. “You should eat something before we move you to the cabinet. It will be a long evening.”

Victor thanked him and started carefully folding his hair over the trolley, making sure it wouldn’t get dirty or tangled again. He didn’t have the time to polish threads of silver twice the same day.

“It’s gotten quite long. Soon you’ll need something bigger to carry it around.”

Victor shrugged as he finished taking care of his hair. He wondered what Georgi thought about him. He was a kind person and had been with them for a while, but Victor didn’t know him that well. Georgi had arrived some years ago, holding hands with the girl he was still in love with. The girl had left a year ago to get married to another man. Georgi had been angry at first, but now said he was ready to forgive everything and welcome her back. Victor found his obsession unsettling, but the truth was he sometimes wished someone would care about him the same way. Georgi was one of the few who’d never resented Victor for taking the spotlight. Even though he was an amazing wizard, he didn’t seem to mind staying in Victor’s shadow. Victor was the goose that laid golden eggs, but he’d always thought Georgi’s role was more indispensable than his. After all, he only had to grow his hair and carry it around. There was no real skill involved, while Georgi and Yakov were the ones doing the magic behind the scenes.

“What do you suggest?” Victor asked.

“You could get a haircut, a pet, have some free time…” Georgi sighed and seemed worried. “We’ve talked about this, Victor.”

He was right. And Victor still had the dagger Georgi had enchanted for him. It was supposed to cut silver as if it was warm butter, but he didn’t want to use it. There was nothing he could be if he wasn’t the man with hair made of silver, so why would he want to be plain and useless Victor? Nobody would care about him then.

“Thank you for the food,” Victor replied as he turned his attention to the peeled fruits on the tray. “I thought I wouldn’t have time to eat anything.”

“I can’t tell you Yuri peeled and cut them for you because he’d have my head on that silver platter, so I’ll say you’re welcome.”

Victor smiled. Yuri was a very young shapeshifter who could transform into a small tiger and had the personality of a grumpy cat.

“I’ll make sure not to thank him, then.”

 

* * *

 

 

Such an important visit required a slower and more careful arrangement of Victor’s hair. As always, Mila’s help was invaluable during the process, since she was the only person strong enough to hold all of Victor’s hair without using magic.

“I don’t understand why he doesn’t have his hair cut,” she complained to Georgi after they’d finished.

“Hush. If he hasn’t done it, it’s because he doesn’t want to,” Georgi whispered loud enough for Victor to hear. “We should respect his decision.”

“But it’s getting longer and longer! He’s gonna get killed under its weight one day! Someone has to make him see…”

Victor never learnt what he had to see, for Yakov entered the cabinet at that precise moment demanding their attention.

“Everyone, to your positions! The Queen will enter now with the Imperial guests. Behave yourselves until they are gone. I don’t care about the rest.” Victor couldn’t see him from his location at the end of the tour, but he could hear him perfectly, and imagine his expression. “And that also goes for you, Victor!”

What Victor hoped he meant was that he only had to stay very still and quiet until the important people left, and then he’d be allowed to read the book he’d previously hidden below his cushion.

“Yes, Yakov!” he yelled cheerfully.

Victor listened to the others rushing to get ready. The cabinet was the same every day, so it didn’t take long for them to find their places. When all was silent, Yakov welcomed the Queen and the Imperial Family of Wakoku to their humble cabinet of curiosities. They were all in the same room together, but the cabinet had ten scenes separated by intricate tapestries and exotic folding screens, all of them placed in the centre of the ballroom, while the visitors walked along the walls, unable to see what lay ahead thanks to a series of curtains.

Since he wasn’t supposed to do anything else until the influential group had left, Victor focused on their tour around the room and hoped it wouldn’t be prolongued. Some people spent hours inside, opening every single drawer and asking about every single detail, but the Queen wasn’t one to linger, so she’d hurry the party along.

The first scene shared a partition with Victor’s, so he could hear the group as if they were in front of him. They didn’t sound impressed by the first room, but it was to be expected, for it looked like a normal cabinet. Those who had come to see the wonders would find it disappointing, but their impatience would make their visit more exciting. Only scientists and cabinet lovers stopped in the first room, but the Queen always opened all the mineral and butterfly collections for her guests to see. It should not have been surprising, since the Queen had been a benefactor of the cabinet long before Victor had appeared in Yakov’s life. The Queen talked at length about the importance of beauty in a cabinet whenever she visited, but Victor knew how much the Queen enjoyed the academic aspects of the collection, too. Whenever her guests wanted to discuss the sciences, her enthusiasm reached Victor directly through the folding screen.

As he heard the Queen and another woman discussing the mechanism of the old clock in the center of the false room, Victor was pleased to realize he would be able to understand everything that was being said. Both women were using the common tongue to communicate, which was an amalgam of different languages, supposedly created by the merchants to assist in their trade. Knowing the theory, one would suppose only the middle classes would know the language, but Victor had learnt it from aristocrats and diplomats instead. Intelligent people ought to be able to recognize what could be used to their advantage.

The Queen moved on to the second scene as she kept talking, and a roar welcomed the group. A few armoured individuals rushed on the other side of the screen, and Victor couldn’t help but smile. Especially when he realized the Emperor’s reaction had been to laugh at his own guards. Victor could also hear laughter and footsteps on the opposite section, so at least not all servants and guards were easily scared. He briefly wished he had been able to witness the scene. This had to be the best reaction they’d had in a while.

Victor heard gasps as the rest of the guests entered the bearman’s scene, even though they already had to know what they would find inside after the commotion. The scene had been repurposed recently and belonged to Otabek, their newest addition. He had chosen to keep the same tapestry with a magnificent mountain landscape and, in Victor’s opinion, it gave the scene a wild touch that the huge bear complemented perfectly. The third scene consisted of musical instruments, but the Queen moved forward after introducing all of them by name, and Victor felt slightly disappointed until someone belonging to the retinue started playing a clavichord some minutes later. By then, the Queen had already left Georgi’s dancing lights and hadn’t spent much time looking at the cabinet paintings, either.

Victor had been motionless for half an hour when the Queen finally reached his side of the ballroom. The first scene belonged to Yuri the tiger and the decoration was rather unique. Victor had been quite surprised the first time he’d entered Yuri’s scene, for it was full of tigers in different shapes and sizes. He’d guessed the idea was to surprise their patrons when they realized one of the smaller tiger figures was dangerously alive, but Yuri’s room in the palace was decorated the same way, so Victor wasn’t entirely sure. The seventh scene of the cabinet had a shadow play, also controlled by Georgi thanks to both of his scenes sharing a side. Young children usually begged their parents to stay and watch, and it was particularly useful when parents and guardians wanted to make young children stop crying because the “pretty cat” wouldn’t get close enough to be petted. The first time, it had been a pleasant surprise to learn they hadn’t been crying because they had lost any limbs to the kitty. Victor suspected Yuri had had trouble restraining himself, even more so at the beginning. Indeed, the tiger had been difficult to control until Otabek had arrived. All of them had been fortunate to find another wonder so soon after Anya had vanished, but the fact that it was another shapeshifter had been especially positive for Yuri, and Victor was happy for them both. His happiness didn’t mean he couldn’t wish, at the dead of night, that he would also find someone similar to him. Someone that was willing to join the cabinet, so that he wouldn’t feel so lonely.

The Queen resumed the tour, drawing closer to Victor. Following the shadow play was Mila’s scene, where she would be lifting a cannon or a pianoforte, depending on her mood. Victor hoped they would skip the scene between Mila’s and his. In his opinion, the stuffed birds were underwhelming, and the sooner they finished, the sooner he could go back to the book he was reading. He still had to discover what happened to the princess that had lost her smile.

Finally, the head of the procession reached Victor’s scene. He couldn’t see them, but he heard some of them gasp, and a few calling other people. No wonder the most boring scene had been placed just before his. That way, the grand finale would be even more unexpected. Victor obeyed Yakov and didn’t even open his eyes, just concentrating on making his hair shine brighter with his inner magic. His scene was the sparsest one: it was all black, even his clothes and the armchair. Facing the black screen, Victor knew what the guests would be seeing. He had helped design his scene so the focus would be his hair. Threads of silver had been disposed strategically around the available space by Mila and Georgi, emerging from his own head in the center of the cone. Before people got closer to inspect and touch his hair, it should look like…

“It looks like a spiderweb,” a young woman said in Common, and then she continued talking in a tongue Victor didn’t recognize.

More people entered the room, and the Queen encouraged them to touch Victor’s hair, to see for themselves that it was pure silver. It took them all a while, but at last the head of the retinue left, guards and all, and Victor was able to breathe again. Now that only minor dignitaries and servants were left, he could continue reading his book. Victor shifted his weight slowly and took the book from under the cushion. His armchair was facing the folding screen, so even if there were people behind him, they wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing.

“¡Yuuri!” someone screamed behind Victor.

He gave a start and dropped his book, for as the saying goes, impatience bears bad fortune.

Victor doubted something had happened to Yuri, but he couldn’t turn around to ascertain anything with his hair bound so tight. He focused on listening, but the two young men behind him were talking in a tongue he didn’t understand. Maybe it was a word in their language that happened to sound like Yuri’s name? Victor tried to relax and wondered whether they would notice if he tried to trap the book between his feet. Before he attempted rescuing his novel, one of the men left. Victor was sure it was only him and the other man in the false room now, but he didn’t know where the man was standing or what he was looking at. Victor restrained a shiver and closed his eyes, focusing on his inner magic.

“I apologize,” a voice spoke right in front of Victor. “Please allow me to assist you.”

Victor opened his eyes and was shocked to find a man kneeling in front of him, holding the book he had dropped and looking extremely uncomfortable. His hair was short and as dark as his clothes. Victor wasn’t sure, but the clothes seemed to have some sort of silver ornaments. The thought that a servant would have such fine livery and match his own scene was rather amusing. If the Imperial Family could afford to dress their retinue in such exquisite clothes, it explained why the Queen had been so invested in this state visit.

“Thank you,” Victor managed to whisper as he took the book from the stranger’s hands. “You just saved my life.”

The man finally looked at Victor, beautifully expressive dark eyes widening in surprise. The stranger was rather handsome, and Victor felt maybe he was quite fortunate after all.

“I’ve done nothing of the sort!”

Victor tried to show him a reassuring smile, even if he was out of practise.

“Well, I am about to finish the book, and here I thought I’d have to wait until tomorrow to know how it ended,” Victor explained. “I’m not a patient man and I could have hurt myself trying to recover it.”

“Oh!” The handsome man frowned and looked above Victor, where his hair was on display. “I’m very sorry. Is it painful?”

The question shook Victor, so he laughed it off.

“It actually takes a weight off my shoulders.”

The dark-eyed man just nodded, and his expression was so serious that Victor wished he had been honest for once.

“I’ll leave you to your book, then. I hope you enjoy the ending.”

Victor would rather keep talking with him, but he supposed an important servant had better things to do than humouring a mongrel with metallic hair.

“Will I see you after the performance?” he asked instead.

The request was too obvious and direct, but the man didn’t seem offended by it. Victor found he had reason to hope this exhibition wouldn’t be as dull as the rest. He may, for once, be able to enjoy the subsequent festival.

“It would be my pleasure,” the man said with a small bow, although he was still kneeling in front of Victor.

Even in the dim light of his own hair, Victor could have sworn the man was blushing. His heart started to beat faster at the thought that he could make this person blush.

“Be sure to look for my hair. I’ll be at the other end of it.” He winked and, yes, the man was definitely blushing.

“I’d probably notice even if I wasn’t looking for it, but I’ll keep my eyes open.”

Victor couldn’t stop the grin that split his face as he decided that his performance had to be flawless that evening. The most beautiful one he had ever made. The most heartfelt. Victor wanted to impress the man that was in front of him, insistently looking at the floor. But what could he possibly do to make the man look at Victor again with those wonderful eyes?

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll be looking forward to-”

“Yuuri!” a voice yelled behind Victor, making the kneeling man look up.

Victor couldn’t understand what was being said and couldn’t turn around. He silently cursed his hair and wished he had a mirror, but there was nothing he could do but look at the man whose name he’d just learnt.

“I’m sorry, Victor,” Yuuri said, making Victor wonder how he knew his name. “I must leave now, but I promise we’ll meet again.”

Victor’s rare smile didn’t leave his face as the man left crawling below his hair.

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Victor whispered as he opened his book and started to read.

When Georgi and Mila appeared to dismantle his scene a few hours later, he hadn’t turned one single page.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, mydri and levisfreckledrinharu, for your invaluable help with this chapter.  
> I couldn't have done it without your support.
> 
> EDIT: My awesome friend warasu made fanart to go with this fic and you can see them [here](http://warasu.tumblr.com/post/166476719065/the-cabinet-of-curiosities-chapter-1-hamykia), [here](http://warasu.tumblr.com/post/167012561860/another-victor-from-hamikyas-fanfic-o-o) and [here](http://warasu.tumblr.com/post/166651727815/another-victor-from-hamikyas-fanfic).  
> Thank you so much, warasu, I can't believe someone made a piece of fanart out of something I wrote, let alone three!  
> Love you so much ;_;


	2. The Exhibition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri is in shock after meeting what he knew would be the most beautiful being in the whole world. The fact that they're going to meet again after the exhibition doesn't help with his usual anxiety. He's fortunate to have friends and responsibilities that won't allow him to run away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been writing much because, at first, my internet stopped working. Then I went abroad. Then my chair broke down.  
> Well, lots of things happened and English is not my first language, so it takes longer than usual and I'm a slow writer.  
> Yuuri's birthday was a couple of days ago, so I hope this can still be considered a late birthday present.
> 
> Thank you, levisfreckledrinharu, for your invaluable help.

 

  
Yuuri didn’t quite know what to do with himself after finally meeting Victor, for nothing had gone the way he expected.

Now it is well known that Victor wouldn’t have agreed, but Yuuri was sure he’d made a terrible first impression. After all, he hadn’t been able to look Victor in the eye and tell him what he’d planned to say. And yet, Victor had somehow agreed to meet him afterwards anyway. Not exactly agreed, because Yuuri hadn’t been brave enough to ask. So Victor had invited him instead for some unfathomable reason. Why would someone like Victor be interested in meeting him?, Yuuri asked himself. Maybe he would be able to ask Victor instead and fix everything after the exhibition.

“Come on, Yuuri,” Phichit said turning back to him. “We’ll be late for dinner and I’m starving.”

Yuuri tried to walk faster for his best friend’s sake, while his mind remained inside the dark cabinet room where his childhood wish had come true. He still remembered the first time he’d seen a portrait of young Victor. Yuuko had taken him to visit an art exhibition and showed him the most beautiful and moving piece of art he’d ever seen. The boy with silver hair quickly became an obsession and, after years of searching, he was certain he’d read every published poem and travel book that mentioned Victor. Everyone knew that his rooms at the Imperial palace were filled with paintings and prints depicting Victor’s hair. And still, Victor easily outshone all of those clumsy copies. To begin with, none of the writers and painters had depicted Victor’s smile or his beautiful eyes, and Yuuri considered that an enormous mistake.

Unforgivable though it may have been, there was something else bothering Yuuri, but he wasn’t sure whether he should voice his thoughts. Seeing how the rest had reacted would help, he thought, but when he arrived to the dining hall everyone else was already seated at the table and waiting for them, so Yuuri had to hurry and excuse himself several times. It wasn’t until he took his place that he could look at his family. He still waited, because he wanted to hear what others would say first, but nobody looked as troubled as he felt. He wondered if he was wrong to feel uneasy after seeing the wonders on display. He was probably being as undiplomatic as always.

The Ingrian Queen, Lilia Baranovskaya, was seated at the head of the ornate mahogany table and looked as stern as Yuuri had come to expect. Yuuri’s smiling father had been placed to her right, creating an interesting contrast. Yuuri’s mother was still praising the wonders of the cabinet on the Queen’s left side. Yuuri always sat next to her and on the opposite side of his sister Mari. Phichit had taken the chair on Yuuri’s left, and Minako was already raising her glass for the customary toast on Mari’s right. Yuuri tried to do the same, but ended up spilling the red wine over his new winter uniform. Fortunately, the black thick cloth would hide his misstep from the Queen’s eagle eye, even at close range. The table was too small for a diplomatic dinner, but the Ingrians preferred to discuss personal matters in private, so the rest of the court dined elsewhere. Except for the few guards that stood around the table, of course.

“The dancing lights were so beautiful!” Yuuri’s mother was saying. “I hope we’ll see them tonight!”

“We will.” The Queen nodded with an expression that Yuuri thought could be described as pleased… for lack of a better word.

“I want to see the miniature tiger,” Mari said. “I wonder what his performance will be about.”

“The bear was quite fun,” Yuuri’s father added, still laughing about the incident with the guards.

“So, what did you think about the cabinet, Yuuri?” his mother asked. “Was it as beautiful as you expected?”

All eyes turned to Yuuri and he gulped. His parents had mentioned his fascination with Victor’s silver hair the moment the Queen invited them to the cabinet, and now they were all waiting for his final verdict. Yuuri, however, didn’t want to talk about his personal feelings even in such a private setting. He probably ought to give a bland, diplomatic answer anyway.

“If I can be honest, every part of the cabinet was more beautiful than I expected. I can’t wait to see the exhibition in the gardens.”

All seemed satisfied with his answer, so he drank more wine and turned to his plate, feeling he had earned a respite. It was weird to eat caviar with bread, but the taste of fish eggs was so familiar it was grounding.

“What did you really think, Yuuri?” Phichit whispered to his left.

Yuuri turned to face his best friend’s smile as he ate. He actually had someone he could talk to if he wanted. Someone who knew Yuuri well enough to suspect he was hiding something.

Phichit knew too much, in fact, but Yuuri was grateful for his presence at the private dinner nevertheless. His dear friend was, to Yuuri’s outrage, the best present he had ever received. Phichit was actually a prince, but where Yuuri was the second son of an emperor, Phichit was the sixth son of the tenth wife of the King of Andaman. He would later become the celebrated Phichit of the Rodent Islands, but first he had been one of the many spare children the King of Andaman had sent all over the world as servants, hostages or spies, depending on the relationship between the host nation and Andaman. A symbol of goodwill though the prince may have been, Yuuri —who had never thought of Phichit as a servant— considered his friendship the true gift he had been blessed with. Phichit was treated as part of the family by all at the Wakoku Imperial palace, and there were plans to make him ambassador to his homeland. Having him participate in diplomatic meetings and visits was part of the scheme to give Phichit the position he’d deserved, and Yuuri was glad to share this trip with his friend as a result. Even if that meant discussing Victor where everyone could overhear.

“Well, you saw. Victor was so beautiful in person, I’ll never be able to look at the paintings in my room the same way.”

“Aaand?”

Phichit always listened to Yuuri’s troubles with a smile on his lips, and Yuuri always felt better after talking to him, but it was hardly the appropriate time or place.

“I didn’t like the display,” Yuuri confessed in a whisper only Phichit would be able to hear. He was lucky the prince hadn’t turned out to be one of the children sent as spies, because Yuuri had never been able to hide anything from him. “It was beautiful, but it felt like his hair was the only thing that mattered. Like he wasn’t a person at all.”

“So that’s why you wanted to see the display from the other side?”

Phichit winked, and Yuuri drank some more to hide the natural reaction to his friend’s professional teasing.

“I just wanted to help…” he complained.

“But you talked to him, Yuuri! What did he say? Have you confessed your undying love to him?”

“Phichit!” Yuuri couldn’t contain himself any longer, even if that made all the eyes turn to him once more.

“You’re so red, Yuuri.” Phichit laughed.

Yuuri hid behind more wine, hoping the Queen would assume he was inebriated rather than infatuated. Although flustered, he was used to Phichit’s good-humoured provocations after years of friendship. He didn’t even flinch when he turned to the others and pretended he’d always wanted to share their conversation with the rest of the table.

“He… agreed to meet me after the performance. Victor.”

“I’m glad to hear so,” the Queen herself said. “I’ll have something arranged.”

“I… Please, there’s no need…”

“I insist,” the Queen added, and Yuuri knew he’d never be able to deny her anything.

“Thank you for your generosity,” he forced himself to reply.

The Queen nodded and asked Minako, who had travelled the world as diplomat in her youth, how she found Ingria after so many years away. Yuuri had been dismissed ten seconds too late.

When dessert arrived and the conversation turned to harvests and the weather, Yuuri hoped it would be safe to talk to Phichit again.

“He didn’t just agree,” he whispered. “He was the one who asked.”

“Victor asked you on a date?”

The thought scared Yuuri more than anything.

“I don’t think so. Why would he?”

“Yuuri! Why wouldn’t he? You’re handsome, intelligent, kind… and you’re a prince!”

Yuuri shook his head, wondering how someone like Phichit could see such virtues in him. Was their friendship guilty of making Phichit biased? Yuuri trusted him with his life, and he believed Phichit thought he was being honest. The part about being a prince was true, but Yuuri knew being an irrelevant second son couldn’t make up for the rest. How could a silver-haired wonder notice someone like him?

Taking a piece of mauve cake that tasted like lemon and strawberries, Yuuri gazed through the windows. The sun was setting and the lanterns lighted up the gardens. Soon, they’d go outside and watch the performance. And after that, he’d be able to talk to Victor again. Had Victor felt pressured to talk to him because he was part of the Imperial family? Was this all an inconvenience for him? He wished he hadn’t mentioned anything to Queen Lilia, but, as Minako always said, wise people didn’t waste their time hoping to change the past.

By the time the Queen finished her dessert, Yuuri was visibly distressed and Phichit was trying to calm him down.

“Everything will go well, you’ll see. You just have to be your usual charming self.”

Phichit was such a positive force that Yuuri couldn’t bring himself to say he was the only one who thought Yuuri charming. He was usually grateful that at least he had a friend who called him handsome, but the fact that Victor would never agree with his best friend had Yuuri shaking in anguish.

“According to the schedule, next is the walk through the gardens,” Phichit continued. “They have a pond bigger than the one at the Imperial gardens, so maybe we could go there and relax together.”

It was a plan as sound as any other, and better than wallowing in shame and dread. Unfortunately, Yuuri was quite adept at doing several things at once. It didn’t help that he was extremely focused on panicking.

  

* * *

 

 

The air was warm and the water reflected the orange sky like a mirror when they reached the pond. The scenery was so different from the one at the trimmed and orderly Imperial gardens, that not even the sight of water helped soothe Yuuri’s nerves. Crossing the gardens only meant that the fateful meeting was drawing closer. The royal tent was visible as they circled the pond, and seeing it made Yuuri regret ever setting foot on Ingrian soil.

“Yuuri, you’re turning green. Shall we leave?” Phichit held his hand when they got closer, like the true friend he was.

“It’s fine.” Yuuri shook his head and stepped into the royal tent, Phichit by his side. “I swear I won’t embarrass the Imperial family. I really want to see the exhibition.”

“You’re nervous about your date, aren’t you?”

Yuuri wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide in it.

“It’s not a date.”

“Of course it is. And it will be a wonderful date. Let me get your cloak.”

Yuuri grimaced but held still as Phichit draped the thing over his shoulders and fussed trying to make it look regal enough. The cloak had been a present from the Ingrian Queen, who had given one to each member of the Imperial family. They were styled like the Ingrian royal family ones, and Yuuri had to wear his at any official event so that the Ingrian people could recognize him as a prince. He hated everything related to it, but he hated the crown he’d brought from Wakoku even more. Phichit attempted to make it look like they were getting ready for a Stivalian carnival, but since he had no cloak and was only wearing a black winter uniform that matched Yuuri’s own, he only succeeded in making Yuuri feel more out of place.

Yuuri thanked Phichit anyway and went to look for his binoculars. He wouldn’t miss the exhibition after all he’d been through, and he needed them in order to see the stage. So, of course, they were nowhere to be found.

Yuuri sighed and held the crown in place before bending down to look below the table where his belongings had been.

“Were you looking for these?”

Yuuri bumped his crown against the table and looked at Phichit, who giggled while holding his binoculars.

“Yes! Where were they?”

“Inside their case, Yuuri. You’re so cute when you’re nervous.”

Yuuri stood and glared at Phichit.

“There’s nothing cute about me.”

Phichit never missed a cue.

“Handsome, then. You look like an Ingrian king when you’re angry. Maybe it’s the cloak?”

“That doesn’t help, Phichit,” Yuuri whispered.

“I think it does. You’re so exasperated that you forgot about panicking. I’m a genius, really.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but smile. He did appreciate his best friend’s efforts.

The smile on his lips lasted until the Cabinet’s Master arrived looking for the Queen. Since it was the sign they’d been waiting for, Yuuri hid behind Phichit hoping the Queen would forget about her promise if she wasn’t visually reminded of his existence.

As soon as the man left and Yuuri lined up behind Mari, his small hope was viciously thwarted.

“You’re so lucky, little brother,” Mari said with a cunning smile. “The Queen has summoned Victor after the exhibition, so you’ll be able to meet him right here. Aren’t you glad this trip is going so well?”

Yuuri imagined his family and the Ingrian Queen looking at him while he tried to talk to Victor, and blushed preemptively.

“Don’t worry, Yuuri,” Phichit whispered just before they exited the tent. “I’ll take care of everything.”

Yuuri didn’t know if he should feel better or worse after such ominous words, but he didn’t have the time to decide. Once he left the royal tent, his thoughts turned to the procession he was participating in. A carpet made of red velvet and gold crossed the field in front of the audience. It was already dark, so more torches had been placed to lit the way, leaving the rest og the amphitheatre in shadows. Yuuri couldn’t see the people, but that didn’t help anyway. He could imagine their judgmental gazes just as well. In fact, being Yuuri, his imagination was probably crueler than the reality. Yuuri’s fear of inadequacy is believed to be the reason why both him and his best friend used to dress similarly, but that evening the Ingrian royal custom of wearing a red cloak had set them apart.

“Maybe I should have asked the Queen to give you your own cloak,” Yuuri told Phichit as they sat down at their reserved seats. “After all, you’re also a prince.”

Phichit snorted. He always did so whenever Yuuri mentioned the fact that he was his father’s son. He had never been treated like a prince back in Andaman, and as he had told Yuuri the first time they met, he was happy to be seen as Yuuri’s personal servant, valet or private guard. Anything was better than the truth.

“You don’t like standing out, but all of you are wearing the same cloak, so you’d be more noticeable if you didn’t have one,” Phichit replied. “But you actually want to be part of the audience, so me wearing a cloak wouldn’t help.”

Yuuri hid behind his binoculars and looked at the stage. There was another tent behind, and he somehow knew that the wonders were inside. Maybe their magic was so powerful that he could feel it from the other side of the old amphitheatre, or maybe it was wishful thinking.

Suddenly, he felt something other than nerves pulling at his guts.

“They’re using magic. Powerful.”

“Which kind?” Phichit whispered back.

“Elemental. Wind and water.”

Just as Yuuri said that, a strong gust of wind extinguished all the remaining torches, leaving the whole garden in darkness. A timely cloud blocked the light from the stars and the moon as well, so Yuuri wasn’t able to see anything else. He could, however, feel the powerful water spell being used, and a smaller one that was more concerning than the other two.

“There’s a mind-control one as well.”

“Shall we raise the alarm?” Phichit’s voice sounded tense and serious.

“I don’t think so,” Yuuri said to calm his friend. “It’s a small one. Just to improve the mood of the audience.”

“Well, it’s not going to work with us now.”

Yuuri felt guilty. “I shouldn’t have mentioned it like that, but I was too surprised. I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” Phichit whispered with his softest voice. “We’re lucky to have you, Yuuri. I hope you always warn me the way you just did.”

Yuuri drew closer to his friend.

“If that’s what you want…then I should tell you they’re conjuring light.”

The stage lit up a moment later, but Yuuri was focused on Phichit.

“It’s fine, Yuuri. Just enjoy the show and let me know if there’s more magic that influences the mind.”

“I… I will,” he promised and turned to face the stage.

The stage now had a paper screen and the Cabinet Master was standing in front of it, illuminated by a couple of dancing lights. Yuuri had missed most of his speech, but the man was just welcoming his guests and introducing the performance. Some shadow puppets played on the screen while he narrated the beginning of the story. Yuuri knew several versions of the same tale: two kingdoms that wanted to end the war by marrying the princess and the prince; an evil witch or wizard that fell in love with the prince or princess and made them sleep for a hundred years until someone broke the spell; and true love saving the day, the royal families and their countries while the witch or wizard got killed or forgotten. He didn’t feel compelled to pay attention the way the rest of the audience did, but the detail and artistry of the magic puppet show had him mesmerised. It was clear that the puppet representing the princess was that of the strongwoman, while Victor’s silhouette represented the prince. Yuuri didn’t recognize the shape of the evil witch that fell in love with Victor, but that was when he realized the shadows had colour. The princess was reddish, the witch was purple, and Victor was, as expected, silver.

The story was a bit different from the usual continental version, and Yuuri paid more attention to the plot when he realized that Victor and the witch were childhood friends who would have gotten married if the king and queen hadn’t decided to end centuries of conflicts with an arranged marriage. Of course, peace for a whole country was more important than the happiness of two people, and everyone had consented to the engagement.

However, when the prince and the princess met, they quickly fell in love: a love so deep that the witch felt as if she had never existed. She couldn’t accept everyone’s happiness when she was suffering so greatly, and decided to learn a spell that would open the eyes of the prince. The narrator left the stage after the witch arrived to the wing of the castle where the prince was asleep.

The paper screen vanished in flames and the stage went dark again. A couple of dancing lights appeared from a corner and surrounded a man dressed as the evil witch. Yuuri realized part of the magic was emanating from him.

“My beloved has forgotten me,” the witch proclaimed passionately. “When he promised he never would, I believed him. As I believe him now.”

The man approached the center of the stage, facing the audience. His voice was deep and his accent strong, yet his costume was that of a woman. Yuuri wondered if the rest of the audience saw the same as he did, for magic seldom worked on him, but he couldn’t sense any new spells.

“This must be the work of that devilish woman,” the witch continued. “She must be an enchantress and has bewitched the prince with some nefarious purpose in mind.” After a flourish, a book magically appeared. “But I have found a spell that will free my beloved. He will understand that what he feels now is not true love, and I’ll save our precious country.”

The witch pretended to cast a sleeping spell, but the true spell was just light. She aimed at the left corner in the back of the stage, and a circle of violet light left her fingers. The light reached a person who lay in the dark, and Yuuri’s heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Victor. The light wrapped Victor’s body as if the spell was swallowing him, and Yuuri wondered if that was how powerful witches and wizards saw magic. He could act as a magic sensor of sorts, but he’d never been able to see a spell himself.

“Now I just have to wake him up with a true love’s kiss that will break all the spells,” the witch told the audience, “and everything will be fine.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened as the witch approached Victor and held his face tenderly. Kisses were considered very intimate in Wakoku and he didn’t know how to feel about Victor being kissed in front of everyone. The witch didn’t wait for Yuuri to untangle his own feelings, and soon she was kissing Victor’s whole face and crying in desperation. Yuuri felt so moved by the scene, he forgot about Victor. For a moment, there was only a sleeping prince being unable to wake up by the person who claimed to love him the most, then the poor witch, and then the slow, terrifying realization that her actions had not been born out of true love, but envy.

In some versions told by religious folk the devil itself was involved at some point, but in the cabinet’s play there was nothing that would diminish the guilt felt by the witch, and Yuuri pitied her. How terrible it would be to condemn your beloved when you thought you were saving them, to learn that what you once thought was love… was only selfishness.

Heartbroken, the witch left her familiar to protect the prince and cast a powerful spell over the whole country. Time stopped for humans, but the land would fight anyone who dared approach the castle. Searching for atonement, the witch travelled to the rival kingdom in disguise, and set a trap for the princess. The strongwoman succeeded in overcoming any obstacles and proving her love was true, so the witch confessed all her crimes and spent the remains of her magic making the princess immortal until the prince was awaken.

A couple of heroic deeds later, the princess encountered a magical tiger —which was usually a giant lion but was interpreted by the miniature tiger instead— that decided to help on her quest. Even with such a great help, decades passed before she arrived to the castle. The hair of the prince had grown long and wild… and it had taken on a life of its own.

The stage was dark as they entered the prince’s room, a lonely torch lighting the way. They got to the corner where the prince had fallen asleep, but they found the familiar of the witch instead. The huge bear threw the torch away and got ready to fight the princess, but the tiger jumped right before the stage went dark again. Both animals roared unseen while the princess lit a match and continued on her way.

Her timing and acting were so good that all the audience remained in complete silence as she searched the stage, stepping over clothes, ropes and other obstacles. The scream when she found the pale face of the prince floating surrounded by darkness was echoed by many in the audience, and repeated when the match was magically blown out.

Something pulled at Yuuri’s guts, and he bent on his seat, pushing the binoculars so hard he would have red marks around his eyes. He didn’t want to miss anything.

“Yuuri. Is it magic?”

Yuuri didn’t move or breathe. Someone touched his arm.

“Yuuri, is there anything wrong?”

The worry in his friend’s voice finally permeated Yuuri’s brain, and he analysed what he was sensing. Phichit was sensitive to mind-controlling spells, and Yuuri’s priority was to reassure him.

“It’s not strong. Just enough to make sure everyone’s watching this,” he whispered.

“You’re about to fall from your seat. Are you under the spell?”

Was he? He didn’t want to look away, but magic had never made him feel this enthralled before.

“Not that one. It’s just…”

“What?”

A pulse of light on the stage. Yuuri gasped as all the props thrown around the prince’s room lit up. Rivers of silver light conflated into Victor’s head. The locks of hair undulated on the floor as if they were truly alive. Yuuri briefly considered crawling downstairs to get a better look.

“Oh, even I can sense whose spell it is.”

Yuuri didn’t even bother to deny it.

“It’s fine. Ignore your best friend and keep watching like you’re spellbound. That surely means you’re enjoying it.”

And so Yuuri watched and forgot everything else. He watched, and his mind was blown away.


	3. More than one misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor is looking forward to his date with Yuuri after the exhibition, but Yakov has other plans for him.  
> Forced to choose between a shy servant and yet another aristocrat, Victor knows what he'd choose... but he can't turn down a Royal request.

That night’s performance is, to this day, believed to be the most beautiful ever witnessed in the land of Ingria. Victor had been determined to impress the audience, or at least one very special person, and judging by the gasps he could hear, his attempt had been a success. He’d managed to steal a few glimpses from his dark corner, but hadn’t been able to recognize the Wakokuan servant from so far away. It hadn’t helped that he’d been unknowingly looking at entirely the wrong section of the amphitheatre, but of course Yuuri was hiding behind his binoculars anyway.

“Well done!” Georgi whispered from his hiding spot behind Victor.

Victor knew the timing had been perfect, for he had been looking through his half-open eyes in order to achieve the best effect. Once Mila’s match had been blown out, he peeked and released a gust of magic that lit his scattered hair from tips to root, creating waves of light as every lock rose from the ground.

To make his hair look like props scattered around the floor, they needed Yakov’s patented Mirage spell. To make the locks rise and surround Mila, Georgi stood behind him and controlled a complex water spell that had been created by a famous Saalian musician for the Royal Water Music Concert. But it was Victor who had the power to make their performance as memorable as Yakov claimed it was, and he didn’t even have to act. Pretending to be asleep in the darkest corner of the stage, he had to control his inner magic and light his hair with the rhythm and patterns Yakov and Georgi had devised. It was exhausting work, but the result was worth it: the audience would see the hair crawl and undulate, moving like tentacles or real snakes that viciously attacked the warrior princess. Each time Mila touched a lock with her sword, Victor would retract the light and Georgi would let the hair fall to the ground. When only one lock of hair remained, Mila would lose her sword and use her inhuman strength to grasp the hair and wrap it around her neck. Of course, she would make it seem as if the lock was actually moving and attacking her, not the other way round.

Victor shivered as if someone was watching him, but surely everyone in the audience would be looking at the princess instead, so he closed his eyes and focused on the sounds of Mila fighting, waiting for his cue.

“This can’t be! I can feel life escaping from me, but I haven’t saved you yet.” Mila said towards the audience. “My beloved prince… I apologize, for I have failed you.”

Victor retracted the light as he heard Mila’s kiss to his hair. In the darkness, Mila fell to the ground with a thump. The audience remained in silence for some seconds, waiting for the spell to be broken. That was Victor’s favourite part: when he had the power to put an end to both play and curse. Knowing Yuuri would be watching, Victor waited a bit longer than usual, but finally lit his hair again, this time from root to tip. When all his hair was alight, Georgi’s orbs activated and bathed the stage with the colours of dawn.

“My dear, is it morning already?” Victor asked as he opened his eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?

“I was afraid I’d have to tell you,” Mila gasped, waving a hand from the floor, “that your morning hair is terrible.”

The way Mila delivered the traditional final pun made the audience laugh as darkness devoured the stage once more, and then it was time to get up with Mila’s help and bow with the rest of the performers. Victor waved at the Royal guests as usual, but he was too busy searching for a familiar face among the black-livery servants to pay attention to the Imperial family.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Where are you going?” Yakov asked as Victor pushed his hair into the covered trolley.

“On my way to meet someone important.”

“So you know already? I thought I’d have to drag you there.”

Victor froze. That didn’t bode well.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about meeting the prince of Wakoku, of course.” Yakov narrowed his eyes. “What were you talking about?”

Victor hesitated, but not long enough for Yakov to notice.

“A date, I hope,” he answered with his broadest smile. “With a servant called Yuuri.”

The good news didn’t alter Yakov’s expression.

“And you were going on your own?”

“I don’t need a chaperone, Yakov, it’s just a date. I’m not going to elope.”

Victor knew what he needed was a bodyguard, but Yuuri seemed shy and sweet. A third person would make everything awkward, and he just wanted to see Yuuri blush in private.

“Wait here,” Yakov ordered. “I’ll tell Georgi to go with you. First, to meet the prince; then, to your date. It’s a royal petition, so don’t you dare make an Emperor’s son waste his precious time.”

Yakov didn’t wait for him to agree before he left, so Victor finished preparing his hair and turned to the exit without further ado. He knew a request by the Queen couldn’t be ignored, and he knew he owed his life to the country and the cabinet that had saved him, but talking to diplomats and princes could take ages. And Yuuri didn’t deserve to feel abandoned, even for the Emperor himself.

One hour later, Victor was still searching for Yuuri.

He’d intended to find the elusive servant as soon as possible before heading to the Royal Tent, but luck was not on his side. Nobody knew of a servant called Yuuri, and most of the Wakokuan guards didn’t speak Common very well. The dance floor was full of handsome dark-haired people greeting Victor as soon as he appeared, but he just smiled and left once he ascertained Yuuri was not one of them. Had Yuuri changed his mind after seeing the performance? Victor had hoped the opposite would be true.

Before losing all hope, he checked the food stalls once more, and the smells made his stomach grumble, but his favourite Wakokuan wasn’t there either. Discouraged, he gave up and headed toward the Queen’s tent, afraid that he’d wasted too much time in a fruitless search.

A couple of armoured knights were standing on both sides of the entrance, and one of them greeted Victor as he approached pushing his trolley.

“Crispino? Is that you?”

“No, it’s the Queen. Of course it’s me!”

“Well, it’s the first time I see you on duty without your sister. Is she all right?”

Michele and Sara were the famous Crispino twins, and Victor knew them through Mila. The few times they’d met, Victor had learnt that wherever Sara went, her brother would follow. In fact, that was how they’d both ended up serving in the Royal Guard: when Sara became a knight, Michele decided to do the same so they could be on duty together.

“She’s fine.” Nevertheless, Michele was frowning. “Wanted to be on her own, she said. She’s working as a fortune-teller today and I’m stuck here with Emil.”

The other guard shook Victor’s hand enthusiastically and started introducing himself, but Victor was saved when the drapes parted and an annoyed Yuri came out of the tent.

“What are you doing here? I’ve been waiting for you forever! You’d go much faster if you didn’t have that stupid trolley,” was Yuri’s greeting.

Victor didn’t even bother explaining it was necessary to carry his hair around. He’d assumed long ago that this was Yuri’s roundabout way of saying he should have his hair cut.

“Has Yakov sent you to be my chaperone?” he asked instead.

“You wish. I just have to make sure you enter this tent, so go ahead and do it.” He started pushing Victor’s trolley toward the entrance of the red tent and forcing the man to follow.

“I can do it myself.”

“You’re late, Yakov’s gonna kill you and I’m making Otabek wait, so tell that to someone else.”

“So that was the problem!” Victor exclaimed triumphantly. “You also have a date! We could have a double date. Wouldn’t that be adorable?”

Yuri’s glare was murderous as he kicked Victor inside one of the partitions and closed the drapes, but before the red velvet blocked the view Victor was able to assess that his face was as red as the tent itself. His words must have been close to the truth.

Victor sighed and crossed the room, willing his trolley to stop squeaking. Yuri had been right: he was late. If he’d made the Queen wait, Yakov would have his head on a silver platter no matter how famous he was. Fortunately, he could only hear two male voices behind a white folding screen, talking in a language he didn’t understand.

“Excuse me!” he exclaimed before peeking behind the screen. “I’m sorry I’m late, but I’ve just been told I’m supposed to meet…”

The words wouldn’t come out.

He’d just found the person he’d been looking for in the place he least expected. Oh, if he’d only listened to Yakov from the beginning! But how could he have imagined…?

“No problem, Victor. We know you’re a busy person. Right, Yuuri?”

It was then when Victor realized Yuuri wasn’t alone. There was a cheerful man hastily leaving the royal cloak and the imperial crown on a wooden chair. His uniform was the same as Yuuri, but now that Victor saw both in the warm light of the tent, he noticed the decorative thread and buttons were silver for Yuuri, and gold for the other man.

“My name’s Phichit, and you already know Yuuri, right? We’ve been waiting for you.”

Victor shook Phichit’s hand and then everything started to make sense. He had been so wrong! Yuuri wasn’t a mere servant. He was personal assistant to a prince! For Phichit had to be the Emperor’s son if he was allowed to touch the royal cloak and the crown. The gold in his uniform proved his status as well, and Yuuri had to be important enough to be there despite his lower rank.

But still one question remained… Why had the prince requested his presence when he had a date with his… valet of whatever Yuuri was? Victor wondered if the prince was upset, and turned to Yuuri for help. Yuuri, however, continued staring at Victor the same way he’d done since he’d arrived. That is to say, he didn’t react in any way that implied he was still alive and breathing.

 _Let’s start with the truth then_ , Victor thought.

“I apologize for making you wait. I wish I’d come earlier but, as a matter of fact, I was looking for your Yuuri elsewhere.”

Yuuri remained unresponsive, but Phichit’s eyes followed Victor’s gaze, scrutinized Yuuri, looked back at Victor and widened comically.

“Oh, you— I mean— I know about your date, don’t worry. I wanted to meet you before I let you take my friend away, you know? Just… Just that.”

Victor understood. He was glad Yuuri was friends with this kind prince that cared so much about him. His words also implied Yuuri wanted to be more than friends with Victor. Now he just had to make sure the prince of Wakoku approved of him, so he plastered on a smile and nodded.

“I’d rather set your mind at ease first. If there’s anything you’d like to know…”

Phichit’s grin was blinding. “I have, in fact, some information YOU may want to know.”

Phichit and Victor both turned to Yuuri expecting some sort of reaction, but he was still staring at Victor in silence.

“Is he fine?” Victor asked.

“Oh, yes, don’t mind him,” Phichit replied cheerfully as he approached a table set with drinks and took two glasses that were still full. “We’ve been drinking while we waited for you, but one more glass wouldn’t go amiss.”

Yuuri took both glasses from Phichit’s hands and drank one after the other, then carried the empty glasses back to the table and took two more. Victor was about to say something when Phichit hushed him.

“Just for the nerves, yes? Yuuri needs a bit of liquid courage to get started, but it’s worth it. Believe me.”

Victor didn’t have any reason to feel rancour just because Phichit seemed to know his friend and assistant so well, but he did.

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said instead.

“You’ll see it for yourself!”

“I actually just wanted to see him again,” Victor confessed. “I don’t mind if he’s not being talkative.”

“That’s nice. Will you take care of him if I leave you two alone?”

“You have my word.” Victor put his hand over his heart to show he meant it.

“Do you dance?”

To Victor’s surprise, it was Yuuri who’d asked the last question.

“I can try, but my hair might be a problem.”

Yuuri pouted and Victor regretted many a thing, but didn’t have time to decide if dancing with Yuuri might be worth doing something drastic.

“Have you had dinner, Victor?” Phichit volunteered.

“Not yet. I ate some fruit hours ago, but I haven’t had time after the performance.”

“Then you should totally take Victor to eat something, Yuuri. He made a great performance, he deserves a nice dinner.”

Yuuri nodded and left the two glasses, then empty, on the table.

“Your performance was wonderful, Victor. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“If you enjoyed it, Yuuri, then I’m satisfied.”

He was more than satisfied, he realized. What Victor was feeling was close to pride. He’d felt this way ages ago, when he’d started working for the cabinet, but he’d forgotten how good it felt. He was so surprised that he almost missed what the prince said next.

“Oh, he certainly loved your parts the best! I got worried when he started drool—”

“It’s so late, Victor! Let’s go now, you must be starving.”

“Oh, but I wanted to hear what the prince had to say. It sounded interesting.”

Phichit laughed as Yuuri took Victor’s arm and dragged him toward the entrance.

“It’s fine, you young people should go out and have fun. Enjoy your date!” Phichit followed and dismissed them with feigned gravity, then winked at Victor.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll make sure to bring him back early,” Victor said with a mock salute.

Phichit laughed again, tears in his eyes. “I like him, Yuuri! I give you my blessing.”

As Victor took his trolley back from Yuuri, he overheard some muttered words that made him laugh.

“Phichit is my best friend and I love him, but I want to kill him right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I'm sorry this chapter was shorter, but I'm really looking forward to writing the next one and it will probably be long, so I hope that's fine with you guys.  
> And I hope you enjoyed this instalment as well!
> 
> Thank you, levisfreckledrinharu, for your help. I always doubt myself and need a second opinion, so I wouldn't be able to do it without you!


	4. One Night to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri gives Victor his best date ever, but good things never last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the date! I'm sorry it took so long (life happened), but I hope the content makes up for the delay.
> 
> As always, I'd like to thank levisfreckledrinharu for her moral support! And thank you for catching all my typos. I hope I haven't entered more with my last-minute revisions.

The walk to the food stalls was too long for Yuuri’s taste. A mixture of alcohol and embarrassment had made him bold enough to push Victor out of the tent, but initiating a conversation proved to be harder. Maybe he should have drunk a bit more… like 16 glasses more or so.

“I think you’re already drunk, though,” Victor said. Yuuri must have been thinking out loud. “So it’s good we’re going to have dinner now.”

“You don’t need to worry,” Yuuri replied. “I didn’t have that much to drink…”

“You’re slurring, Yuuri.”

Yuuri was not slurring at all, in his opinion. Victor wasn’t making any sense, but that must have been caused by his empty stomach, so he should be forgiven. Poor Victor hadn’t had any food for hours, and he must have been starving after such a demanding and beautiful performance.

“I’m glad you saw it and found it beautiful.”

Fine. Maybe Yuuri was not as sober as he thought. From that moment on, he resolved to keep his mouth closed while he was thinking.

“Although I must confess I couldn’t find you among the audience,” Victor added.

“I did see you, though. You were so far away… but I was using some special… aid for my eyes? I forget the word in Common.”

“I think I know what you mean. I was worried about you missing the performance, that’s all.”

Warmth filled Yuuri’s chest. The thought of Victor looking for him in the audience was strange and unexpected, but it gave him a boost of confidence nevertheless. “I was worried about you being inconvenienced by a Royal Summon. I wish they wouldn’t have forced you to meet with me, but the Queen overheard when I was talking to Phichit...”

“Oh, it’s the best Royal Summon I’ve ever gotten. I’ll thank Phichit in person when we go back.” Victor pushed his trolley closer to Yuuri, and Yuuri wondered if it would be offensive to offer some help. “Anyway, where are you taking me now?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest.” Yuuri stopped and looked around; they had reached a fork, but he didn’t know the gardens at all; Victor should have been the one to lead the way. “I assumed if we followed the music, we’d end up close to the food. Wasn’t that our goal?”

Victor smiled the way he’d done when it was only the two of them inside the cabinet’s room. “You’re right. On both accounts. But I know a shortcut through the grove, or rather… a less crowded way, if you’d allow me.”

Yuuri didn’t have to think about it twice before he agreed. Finding less people on their way had no disadvantages whatsoever. “I’ll go wherever you want tonight. Especially if it’s just you and me.”

Victor’s cheeks turned pink for some unexplainable reason.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He turned to the darker path, and Yuuri followed.

The light of the torches was dimmed through this secondary path and there were benches along the way, all of them still empty so early in the evening. Victor and Yuuri walked in silence, side by side, until they reached a clearing.

“Victor, this is breathtaking!” Yuuri exclaimed. “No wonder you wanted to take this way.”

The path remained the same, but the trees had receded on both sides, and Yuuri couldn’t decide where to look. On his side, he had a perfect view of the pond, and the music reached them directly through the water. However, on Victor’s side was a meadow as dark as the sky, covered with a miriad of tiny white flowers.

“It looks like a starry sky, don’t you think?” he asked Victor.

“You’re right. I hadn’t realized.” Victor stopped next to him before walking toward the edge of the path. “Maybe Giorgi or Yakov did something to the flowers. I’ve never seen this place look as beautiful as today.”

Victor looked dazed as he took a seat on one of the benches facing the meadow. Yuuri took the hint and sat down next to him, unable to look away from his companion’s profile.

Victor crossed his arms over the trolley and rested his head on top of them. He seemed content, although Yuuri couldn’t help but wonder if he was that tired after such a short walk. The hair was beautiful, but it looked so heavy… Did it hurt as it grew? Was Victor’s neck in pain? Did Victor mind that everyone wanted to touch his hair? And did it feel soft or hard?

Victor suddenly turned to Yuuri and his eyes widened. It took Yuuri a few seconds to realize that he was touching Victor’s head with one finger.

“I’m so sorry, please forgive me!” Yuuri quickly fell to the ground and apologized in the traditional Wakokuan way. “That was terribly impolite.”

“Yuuri, it’s fine! I was just surprised. Please get up so we can talk. Don’t make me go down there.”

Troubling Victor was the last thing Yuuri wanted, and so he took his seat and apologized again, looking down.

“For a moment, I thought that you’d found a bald spot or something.” Victor’s voice sounded strained. “Did you find a green hair? Is it tarnished?”

“Oh, no, your hair looks perfect! Please forget my impertinence!”

“Perfect, you say?”

Victor’s playful tone made Yuuri look up and find him winking.

“Yes, well, it’s shiny and untarnished. It looks like it glows sometimes…” he tried to explain.

“All of them good qualities, I guess. But perfect?”

Yuuri groaned. He wanted to tell Victor that his hair might be a fascinating part of him, but not the most beautiful. However, he wouldn’t know how to reply if asked what the most beautiful part was, and it was probably something silly to say anyway. Victor’s hair was a big part of his job, and he wouldn’t appreciate a foreigner playing down its importance.

“I’m surprised you can make it glow and move like you did at the play,” Yuuri said instead. “It does look like silver, but there must be something more to it.”

“You’re right.” Victor nodded. “But it was Giorgi who made it move, not me. If I could do that, I wouldn’t have to carry this trolley around.”

“That makes sense.” Yuuri fell silent for a moment, trying to remember what he’d felt during the play. “Then he must have used some elemental magic to make it move… Wind?”

“No, water.”

“Really? Why?”

Victor looked around and drew closer to whisper in Yuuri’s ear, even when there was no one in sight.

“It’s supposed to be a secret, so don’t tell anyone, but my hair floats in the water.”

“So it’s not real silver!”

“I’m not sure, but I’ve always thought of it as an alloy of magic and silver. It never loses its shine and it’s very resistant to tarnish. It’s almost unbreakable, but I have a magical knife that can cut through it. It’s usually quite heavy, but it can float on water so I won’t drown. And yes, I can make it glow, but it doesn’t do anything special. I thought it was quite useless until Yakov found me.”

“It’s fascinating, but it must be quite troublesome for you.”

Victor smiled and looked away. “Go ahead and touch it. I don’t mind.”

Yuuri raised a hand, but stopped before reaching Victor’s head.

“Are you sure?”

Victor nodded, smile broadening, and Yuuri forgot all of his doubts as he placed his hand on the head of silver hair.

“It’s so smooth!” He got even closer so he could see each hair. His sight was no good unless he was right in front of what he wanted to examine. “It’s not soft, though. It does feel like a thread of metal, but it’s so thin and polished, that it could pass for very thick hair. It’s surprisingly malleable, so it’d be perfect for silversmithing. Have you ever tried—?”

“No, I don’t cut it unless it’s necessary.” Victor interrupted. “But if I did, I think Yakov would have someone make it into a coat of mail or something like that.”

“Because it can’t be pierced by a common blade.”

“Or an arrow,” Victor added.

“And it wouldn’t sink to the bottom of the ocean.”

“But that’s a secret,” Victor reminded him.

“I’ll keep your secret.” Yuuri beamed.

He was leaning over Victor, close enough to look into his blue eyes as they narrowed.

“Why didn’t you know how my hair felt like when you’ve already touched it back at the cabinet?”

“I didn’t,” Yuuri replied.

Victor’s expression was inscrutable as he cocked his head.

“Why not?”

“Well, it didn’t feel right, doing it behind your back.” Yuuri saw Victor swallow, since he was so close, and that made him focus on Victor’s lips instead. “I wanted to ask for your permission first, but then I ended up touching it anyway. For that, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Victor whispered. “You can touch all you want. You have my permission.”

“Thanks,” Yuuri whispered back, “but we need to find food first. You haven’t had dinner yet.”

Victor clicked his tongue, but nodded in agreement. “Let’s go before it’s too late, then.”

 

* * *

 

 

When they arrived to the food stalls, some of them were already empty, but Victor chose his food quickly and gave Yuuri some kind of dessert he “ought to try”.

Most of the attendants had finished a light dinner and moved on to dancing, but some of them were still having a more copious meal, and Yuuri was afraid he’d have to spend all of their time together greeting other people. His reluctance must have shown on his face, because Victor requested a private table as soon as he found a waiter.

Once they were alone again, Yuuri relaxed and unbuttoned his uniform before attacking his dessert. The room was quite warm and the powdered sugar would end up on his black jacket, so he had no choice but to leave said jacket hanging on the chair’s back; he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Victor.

“This is delicious!” he moaned between bites. “What is it, Victor?”

Yuuri looked at the pastry roll he still held between his fingers, and licked the white cream that was pouring out of its centre. It was sweet, but the filling tasted like cheese. The texture was sublime; he’d never had anything like it.

After finishing the pastry and licking his fingers, Yuuri turned to Victor and caught him staring.

“Sorry.” Yuuri tried to offer an apologetic smile. “It was so tasty, I quite forgot myself.”

Victor made a strange noise that almost sounded like a whimper.

“Oh, Yuuri… I’m glad you like them as much as I do. They’re called Ingrian Rolls. Yakov used to buy them quite often when I was a child.”

“It’s the best thing I’ve eaten today. Don’t you want one?”

“No, no, go ahead and finish the rest. Please.”

Victor watched hungrily as Yuuri finished the two remaining rolls and sucked on his fingers, which made Yuuri feel bad for him.

“If you wanted more Ingrian Rolls, you should have said so. I can go get you some while you eat your food,” he offered.

Victor refused, but obediently started to eat his own food. His face was red and Yuuri wondered if his dish was spicy. Then he started wondering if he should talk while Victor ate. Silence was always counterproductive with Yuuri, for he started mulling over too many things. If he kept quiet until Victor finished his food, Yuuri would have time and freedom to overthink too much for his own good. The liquid courage was mostly gone from his system, so he drank a more and grew restless. In the end, he got up with some excuse and went in search of a toilet and something to drink; maybe even some rolls for Victor if he could find any.

After relieving himself, he tried to get his hands on more Ingrian Rolls, but apparently Victor had given him the last ones. That explained why he had looked at them so intently while Yuuri had been savouring them. Poor Victor was a true gentleman, but Yuuri was going to find something tasty to bring for dessert. He passed the meat counter on his quest to find pastries, and that’s when he saw it.

On the other side of the table, next to the tent’s opening, a ginger cat was getting ready to attack the food.

Yuuri was quick and caught the cat in two swift movements. The feline tried to break free, but Yuuri told it to stay quiet before the cook found them out. He scratched the cat’s head and chin, and it relaxed noticeably. To make sure the cat would keep calm, Yuuri fed it some stolen meat stripes that smelled delicious.

He went back to the private room carrying a purring cat in his arms instead of the dessert he’d wanted to find, but he thought the change was for the better. Victor had his back turned to the entrance, so Yuuri tiptoed around both chair and trolley to surprise him.

“I brought you a little something,” he whispered in Victor’s ear.

Victor turned to look at him and gaped. He was clearly trying to speak, but he’d been rendered speechless. Yuuri hadn’t been expecting such a huge reaction, so he smirked.

“I found him stealing food from the meat table and I remembered you like animals. He’s fallen asleep after eating, I think.” He didn’t stop petting and scratching the cat’s fur anyway.

“Is he… purring?” Victor asked.

At that moment, the cat woke up and jumped to the table, hissing at Victor. It was so fast that Yuuri didn’t have time to react, but Victor only laughed as the animal growled and left.

“What have you done to that cat, Victor? He hates you!”

“Oh, Yuuri! That was no cat.” Victor was laughing so much, that the waiter entered to check on them.

Once the waiter was dismissed, Victor attempted to dry his tears and talk. “That was… the best thing… I’ve ever seen.”

“What?” Yuuri took Victor’s free hand, trying to draw his attention back to the present. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Yuuri. But it wasn’t a cat, it was a… it was the miniature tiger.” Victor exploded into laughter as he finished the sentence, clearly unable to contain himself.

Yuuri had heard of a contagious disease that made people laugh so much they started floating, and he believed Victor’s laughter was strong and contagious enough to start a new epidemic, so he tried something drastic before it was too late. He intertwined his fingers with Victor’s and pulled. Victor moved forward and Yuuri pressed their foreheads together.

“Victor, look at me.”

He was so close their noses touched. Victor complied and looked at him with mirth and surprise in his eyes. Little by little, he started breathing normally and his laughter turned to giggles.

Yuuri ventured another question, testing the waters. “Do you think he was offended?”

“Probably, but who cares?”

“I do care,” Yuuri complained.

“How did you do that, Yuuri? You must teach me how to make the tiger in him purr, please. It’s for science.”

“I’m not going to tell you! You’d use it for your own entertainment.” Yuuri stood up and went back to his chair.

“I’d only use this precious knowledge for good.”

“You’re laughing as you say that, Victor. It’s not believable.”

“You’re too harsh, Yuuri.”

Victor winked to show he was joking, and that decided Yuuri.

“I can’t really teach you, because I don’t know how I do it,” he looked at Victor intently, willing him to understand.

The atmosphere of the room changed the moment Yuuri admitted it was just a Gift.

“So you’re… especially good with animals? Is that what you’re saying?” Victor didn’t seem to be scared or worried, but Yuuri didn’t expect any less from him.

Being especially good at something… What an indirect way to talk about one’s magic, Yuuri thought, but he tried to follow Ingrian customs. Minako would be glad to know he’d learnt something from her.

“No, I’m… especially good with my hands, I guess?” Yuuri placed his hands over the table and turned them around, flexing and extending his fingers, as if there was anything noticeable. “I’ve been known to give good massages, pet dangerous animals, and make tiny pieces of art.”

“You’re an artist, then?”

“Not really.” He shrugged. “It’s just a pastime.”

He turned away and took a square of black paper from the inner pocket of his jacket. A few seconds later, he handed Victor an exquisite swan made in paper.

Victor looked at him in awe.

“You did that just by folding the paper? That’s amazing, Yuuri.”

“Not really.” Yuuri fidgeted. “Swans aren’t difficult to make. And it’s just paper.”

Victor was still inspecting the paper figure and didn’t acknowledge Yuuri’s lack of confidence.

“What is this silver symbol here?”

“It’s a signature,” Yuuri explained. “All artists in Wakoku sign their artworks this way. Mine means ‘black swan’, so I made a black swan for you.”

“Oh, but I love swans! This is such a coincidence!”

Yuuri was well aware. That was the main reason why he’d chosen Kokuchou as his alias —so that he could feel a bond that hadn’t truly existed between Victor and himself.

“Then I’m glad,” he said instead.

“You’re a box full of surprises, Yuuri.” Victor eyed the tiny swan in his palm one last time before turning his gaze to Yuuri. “What else are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“I don’t believe you. I’m sure you have more skills you’re not telling me. Are they secret? You know we can share secrets.”

Yuuri remembered Victor had told him one of his best kept secrets, so he should reciprocate, but there was nothing interesting to be said.

“I can do… more things, but nothing special. I’m sensitive to elements and magic. And nothing else.”

“You are special. I think I’ve known that since I first saw you back at the Cabinet. My only regret is that we can’t dance together as you wanted while my hair is like this.”

Victor was pouting, so Yuuri bit his lower lip and stared down at his own useless hands. If only he’d gotten powerful Gifts like Mari or his parents… maybe he’d be able to lift Victor’s hair… or create water instead of just being able to locate where the pond was, or…

“Wait a moment. The pond!” He stood up so fast, he knocked down the chair. The noise was muffled by his jacket, reminding him that he ought to take it with him.

“What?” Victor looked like he’d just had a heart attack. “What’s wrong with the pond?”

“Remember the place where the flowers looked like stars in the night sky?” Yuuri crossed the room and grasped Victor’s shoulders. “We have to go back. Now.”

Victor only managed to nod and take the black swan before Yuuri spirited him away.

 

* * *

 

 

The walk back to the clearing was a slow and enjoyable one. Victor and Yuuri strolled side by side, hands next to each other as they pushed the trolley together.

The breeze was warm, and the conversation flowed easily.

“I can’t believe magic is so common in Wakoku,” Victor insisted. “I know I live surrounded by it, but it’s just this place. The rest of Ingria is… well, it’s not like that.”

Yuuri suspected he’d been about to say “normal”. It was time they touched one of the topics he’d wanted to mention earlier.

“And I can’t believe fae blood is so frowned upon here.”

“That’s the way things are.” Victor shrugged. “Ingria is not so bad, really, but I can’t even imagine someone important like the Queen talking openly about her fae heritage.”

“The thing is, it’s expected from our Emperor. I mean, not only should he not feel ashamed, but it’s an honour to have fae blood. Aristocrats and rich people invest lots of resources trying to search who all their fae ancestors were. The more they can find, the better.”

“Why would they want to do that?”

“To improve their status. Fae are like… gods, in my country. If you were related to several gods, you’d be happy to let everyone know, right?”

“Gods.” Victor whistled and shook his head. “It all sounds like an old fairy tale.”

“Well, we believe there’s some truth to those stories.”

“Wakoku doesn’t feel real. The Emperor has fae blood, the prince wears black livery as if he were a servant…”

Yuuri chuckled. “Servants do not wear these clothes back at home. It’s just a military uniform.”

“Is that so? Do you belong to the army, then?”

“Not really,” Yuuri hurried to deny. “It’s just… required by protocol. I haven’t done anything to earn it.”

Victor gazed at the white flowers pensively.

“Well, in any case, it looks like we’ve arrived.”

“Looks like it,” Yuuri agreed.

Victor was eying the bench where they’d enjoyed their conversation earlier, but Yuuri directed the trolley to the other side of the path, where the grove opened to reveal the pond. He waited for Victor’s suspicion to give way to understanding, then pushed the trolley to the water’s edge, stepped away to give Victor some privacy, and started undressing. The black velvet of his jacket and trousers wouldn’t fare well with the water.

“Are we skinny dipping in the pond?” Victor asked behind him.

Yuuri turned around, but Victor was already unlacing his shirt, trousers a bundle on top of some rock.

“That’s not what I had in mind,” he admitted, trying to look serious, “but I’m sure something can be arranged.”

Victor gasped and Yuuri giggled. He was becoming more daring by the minute, encouraged by Victor’s reactions and his own inebriation, so he didn’t even hesitate to accompany his teasing with a wink. His desire to surprise Victor was hard to repress, so he didn’t even try. Leaving Victor speechless, even for a mere instant, was too exhilarating.

“What did you have in mind, then?” Victor asked threw his shirt on top of the trousers.

“I thought I’d take you dancing.”

“In the pond.”

Victor’s frown betrayed his concern, but an intoxicated Yuuri was a confident and convincing Yuuri, and Victor’s misgivings had nothing to do against such an unrelenting force of nature.

“Trust me! It’ll be fun!” He stepped forward and held his hand out in invitation after discarding his own shirt.

“You don’t need to convince me, Yuuri. Just help me get this thing into the water.”

Together, they pushed the trolley until the water reached Yuuri’s waist. Victor made him move away for safety before pulling the crank that lowered the basin where his hair rested. The water filled the basin, and Yuuri marvelled as Victor’s hair started floating.

“It’s been a while since I last swam,” Victor muttered. “But if we go around in a circle, it should be fine.”

Victor’s expression was too somber for Yuuri’s taste, so he took Victor’s hand and pulled him deeper into the water.

“Victor! May I have this dance?”

“As many as you want.”

Victor’s answer wasn’t as uplifting as the smile that accompanied those words.

The silver hair trailed after them like a wedding veil, breaking the surface of the water. The pond was as dark as the sky it reflected, but the moon provided enough light, and a cheerful melody guided their steps.

Yuuri led the dance forming a wide circle, and none of them seemed to mind that the water made their steps slow and awkward. Yuuri found a rhythm easily enough, and Victor made sure they were standing closer than strictly necessary. They were so busy gazing into each other’s eyes that it took them a while to realize Victor’s hair was glowing all around.

“Is that… normal?” Yuuri asked when he noticed the mesmerizing effect.

“It is. Though not common.”

When Yuuri asked for clarification, Victor explained that sometimes his hair would shimmer when he was really happy or frightened, but it had stopped doing so once he grew up. He could control it now… or so he’d believed until that moment, but it was nothing to be worried about.

“I hope this is not you being frightened, then,” Yuuri teased.

“I think I would know if I were.”

“It’s so beautiful.” Yuuri was staring at Victor’s face. “You’re magical, Victor!”

“Not me.” Victor smiled. “Just the hair.”

Yuuri couldn’t stand the thought of Victor believing his hair was better than himself. He released Victor only so he could hold his face between his hands. He had to make sure Victor was only looking at him.

In fact, both were utterly unable to look away.

Yuuri’s heart was pounding as he got closer, but the humming emanating from Victor’s skin was louder. He’d touched many magical items and people through his life, but the almost-melody created by Victor’s inner magic was the most harmonious he had ever felt.

“I can feel the magic inside you, Victor. You can’t lie to me.”

Victor did look frightened then as he tried to step back, but Yuuri wouldn’t allow it.

“I know one of your parents must have been a fae, but please remember that’s something good in Wakoku.”

“You… don’t think I’m disgusting?”

Yuuri couldn’t understand how someone as wonderful as Victor could believe such terrible lies about himself. “Even if my magic is weak and useless, it still means I have fae blood myself. Do you find me disgusting, Victor?”

“No, I… Not at all.”

“Good…” Yuuri whispered in Victor’s ear as he caressed his cheek. “I can feel the sound your magic makes, and it’s beautiful.”

Victor’s breath caught, but Yuuri was distracted by Victor’s hair, because it was shining brighter than before. It pained him to know that Victor was ashamed of his mixed blood when it would have been a sign of favour in Wakoku. That thought merged with the wine still in his body and gave him an idea. It was such a good idea, that he climbed the other man and clung to his neck, making sure his legs encircled Victor’s hips.

“You should come to Wakoku!”

Victor blinked.

“You want me to go to Wakoku? With you?”

“Yes! You’ll be free, safe, and respected for being yourself. Not for your hair. We could become artists or whatever you want. You’d be the silver swan, and I’d be the black swan, and I know it would work out somehow.”

“I don’t know if I can…” Victor started to say.

“Come to Wakoku, Victor!” Yuuri rubbed himself against him.

Victor removed Yuuri and held him at arm’s length as he breathed with difficulty.

“I can’t decide right now. My blood is not in the right place. But I promise I’ll think about it.”

“Really?”

Yuuri’s hopeful expression could have melted the hardest of hearts. As it was, the heart was not Victor’s hardest organ at that moment.

“I want to give you something to assure you I’m serious. Will you bring me a knife that’s hidden in my clothes?”

“Of course!”

Yuuri was already swimming away without waiting for any explanation.

“It’s a small knife, but be careful. Your paper swan is there as well.”

“Don’t worry!” Yuuri yelled as he reached the shore.

Everything was as they had left it, and Yuuri had no trouble finding Victor’s knife. As soon as he grabbed it, he felt the powerful magic hidden within the tiny blade. Several strong spells overflowed his senses, so he didn’t notice when somebody appeared from behind a tree and threw a curse at him. His whole body shook and fell, unconscious, to the ground.

 

 


	5. One Nigth to Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the festival from Victor's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter! I hope the timeline isn't too chaotic.  
> Thank you for all your kudos and comments.  
> You guys make me want to write more!
> 
> As always, levisfreckledrinharu was a great help reading everything super fast before I posted it. All those kudos ought to be shared.

 

  
Victor knew he’d somehow experienced the best night of his life… and also the worst one. He’d woken up thinking that the previous day had been a dream turned into a nightmare, and he’d rushed to the window. All guests had already left, including the Queen and her crimson tent, but the rest of the tents and the outdoors stage were still waiting to be collected. Victor turned his back to the balcony and saw his own knife and Yuuri’s paper swan laying on top of the dresser. He almost forgot his hair behind in his haste to touch the fragile bird and prove it was real, but he felt the tug like a dog on a leash.

Yakov would want to talk to him, he knew. But Victor didn’t want to see him, so he decided to lock himself up inside the ebony powder room. He took his cart and pushed it to the room next to his bedroom, where the window showed the same desolate view: an abandoned celebration where Yuuri was no more. Fortunately, once he’d spread his hair around and sat in his chair, Victor wasn’t able to see anything but the blue summer sky and the tops of the trees.

Brushing and drying his hair made him think about Yuuri with every stroke. He still could feel his warm hands on his own cheeks, ever since Yuuri’d made him stare into those deep brown eyes of his. Victor’s heart had been thumping, but he’d been unable to look away. Yuuri had seemed so serious… Victor still wondered why that sight had aroused him so much.

“I can feel the magic inside you, Victor,” Yuuri’d said. “You can’t lie to me.”

Victor had been scared then. If Yuuri suspected he was a mongrel… But, of course, his hair was already a beacon signalling he had fae blood, and many already believed him to be at least a quarter fae, even when he’d never revealed his true origins.

Nevertheless, he hadn’t known all his self would be tainted by magic, but it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The damned thing had always wanted to take control over everything in his life. He was bound to his magical hair, but he’d never felt a part of it until Yuuri had unknowingly confirmed that he was as much of an abomination. He’d wanted to feel anger, frustration, self-loathing… but some things were difficult to achieve when Yuuri was standing close enough to warm your skin.

That horrible feeling had soon vanished under Yuuri’s ministrations, but that had been the previous night, right before everything had turned into a nightmare. All the forgotten anger and frustration had returned in full force that very morning, when he’d woken up from an actual nightmare about losing Yuuri forever… only to realize that it was true after all.

The loneliness was exacerbated every time he remembered how hopeful he’d felt when Yuuri had talked about Wakoku. The place sounded like a dreamlike country where fae were revered as gods and half-breeds were equals. Could there really be a place where people like Victor didn’t have to hide or become a piece of art to survive? Little did it matter, since Yuuri was gone and now Victor would be trapped in the cabinet forever.

But then… Yuuri had actually invited him to Wakoku. And he’d been quite persuasive at that. Would he still welcome Victor after what had happened?

Victor’s brain said Yuuri wouldn’t want him anymore, but his body had other ideas. Hours ago, Yuuri had climbed him like a tree, arms and legs wrapped around him, and Victor’s brain had melted. A very naked Yuuri had been clinging to him, asking Victor to make the kind of life-changing decisions he couldn’t make with all his blood in one place. And he’d been about to say yes.

At that moment he’d realized Yuuri would be leaving the palace in a few hours… and that he couldn’t allow this man to vanish from his life. He needed time to think about it, even when he suspected he’d follow Yuuri eventually. The prospect of leaving the cabinet to become plain Victor was rather intriguing, but mainly terrifying.

In any case, he’d wanted to make sure Yuuri would remember that night and wait for him in Wakoku, so parting with some of his hair for the first time in decades had seemed like a good gesture.

Instead, that had been the beginning of the end.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see Yuuri falling to the ground, seemingly dead. Victor had never felt so helpless in his whole life.

He realized he was using enough force to damage his brush, so he left it on one of the ebony tables and focused on breathing. But it was futile: the damned hair still smelled like the pond, and memories came flooding back with every breath.

He’d yelled Yuuri’s name, trying to run back to the shore, but his stupid hair had been as much of a hindrance as always. His anguish had brought the culprits out of their hiding places and, to his horror, Victor had realized it was Yakov and Georgi who had attacked Yuuri. He didn’t know who had actually flung the spell, but it didn’t matter. He’d yelled at them, words that he didn’t remember or feel anymore, and then he’d ordered them to help him go to Yuuri. Once he’d arrived to the shore, aided by Georgi’s water spell, he’d fallen to his knees next to Yuuri and verified that he was still alive. Victor’s trembling hands had touched Yuuri’s beautiful neck and then cradled his unconscious body in gratitude, while his mouth had asked the other men to wake him up.

“We’re trying, Victor!” had been the answer.

In Victor’s opinion, they hadn’t tried hard enough.

A knock on the door brought him out of his self-absorption. Georgi entered with an apologetic expression when Victor told him to and closed the door in silence.

“I’m sorry I had to make you sleep as well, Victor.”

Victor sighed and went back to brushing his hair.

“How is Yuuri doing? Did he wake up?”

“He did.” Georgi had the decency to blush and look away. “I’d never seen anyone knocked unconscious by a sleep spell before. We couldn’t wake him up, so we took him back to the Queen’s tent with Mila’s help. Sara’s brother helped and looked over him. He’s just finished his shift and told us your sleeping prince woke up and seemed fine, if a bit confused. His words, not mine.”

Victor’s relief was immense, even if he still had the ability to feel sorry for himself at the same time.

“Then he is fine, but he was so angry that he left without saying goodbye. I guess he regrets ever inviting me to Wakoku.”

“Don’t be so negative, Victor. You said he was the prince’s personal servant. Maybe he had to work and couldn’t spare a moment after having the whole night for himself.”

Victor didn’t believe that was the case. Prince Phichit had seemed nice enough, the kind of person who’d allow Yuuri to visit the cabinet one last time… or maybe request Victor’s presence if he was angry. But the silence felt like Yuuri’s own.

“It was all a misunderstanding, Victor. We thought you were in danger.” Georgi approached Victor, still wary of the silver hair that hadn’t stopped glowing threateningly since the previous day.

“Yakov was well aware of my date. Why would he think me in danger?”

“You should ask him yourself.”

“And he’s going to tell me?”

Georgi seemed at a loss, but Victor couldn’t care less. They had attacked his Yuuri, after all. He was not going to mince his words.

“Fine, I’ll leave you alone,” Georgi allowed. “But know that I’m really sorry, and that if you ever need my help to get him back, I’ll… I’ll do anything you need. I do know how it feels when one’s love is lost, you know.”

Victor just nodded, more interested in being alone with his memories once again than in anything Georgi could say.

Unfortunately, Victor didn’t remain by himself for long.

“Is he gone?” Mila asked as she opened the door mere seconds after Georgi had left.

“What are you doing here?”

She hurried inside and closed the door again, as if his question had been an open invitation.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Sure. What about?” Victor’s smile felt wrong somehow and Mila grimaced, but he just couldn’t remember how he’d done it before. His smiles had felt so natural when Yuuri was present… He’d never known the difference until now, but he’d never be able to fake a smile again.

“I went to see Sara yesterday, and she told me what happened. She says she’s very sorry.”

“What for? It wasn’t her fault.”

“Oh, I agree, but she feels responsible anyway. And I know Yakov won’t tell you what made him so scared, so...”

“Scared?” Victor crossed his arms and legs as he glared at Mila. “He was angry, Mila. And even when the spell went wrong, he thought he’d done the right thing.”

“If you’d let me explain…” Mila crossed her arms and glared right back.

Victor nodded impatiently.

“Well, it all started the night the Emperor of Wakoku arrived to our humble cabinet and…”

Victor interrupted. “Please, Mila. I’m not in the mood.”

“Fair enough,” she said. “I’ll just sum it up for you. Did you know my girlfriend was playing fortune-teller so we could have a date afterward?”

“Michele mentioned she wanted to be on her own,” Victor remembered. “I should have known.”

“What you shouldn’t know is what I’m about to tell you. So promise you won’t tell anyone.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded anyway. “I promise.”

“Well, the thing is that she wasn’t acting. She can really see the future,” Mila confessed. “Or… like… images that people can interpret, especially once the moment has passed. Yakov knew and arranged the fortune-teller thing for her. And yesterday he and Georgi went to her tent after they left the strength contest.”

“So she saw their futures? Saw them attacking Yuuri and they did it because Sara said so? I can hardly blame her for that.” Victor wanted to be left alone again and tried to end the conversation.

“That was not what happened.” Mila frowned. “I’m trying to make this short, but you’re not helping.”

“Sorry,” he sighed. “Go on.”

Mila glared at him before continuing her story. “So… she first told Georgi that he’d never find his true love if he kept pursuing Anya.”

“I could have told him that,” Victor said cocking his head.

Mila snorted. “But you didn’t, so you can thank my girlfriend if Georgi ever lets it go.”

“Oh, I will.” And he was telling the truth. If someone managed to push Georgi away from that unhealthy obsession, they deserved all the recognition. “Anyway, that doesn’t sound like the images of the future you said she sees.”

“Because it wasn’t a prediction. Just common sense. She said the spirits were speaking or something, but anyway, Yakov got a real prediction. And you were in it.”

That did get Victor’s attention. Silence stretched as he scrutinized Mila, trying to guess where her story would lead, but he could only confirm that she thought he would want to hear it. And she was waiting for him to decide.

“Tell me,” he said. “What did she see?”

The fact that Mila didn’t rush to reply left Victor unsettled. She was prone to talk first and fix things later, something that Victor envied. He was terrible at fixing things afterward.

“Don’t forget that these are images people have to interpret. They don’t have a meaning until the customers give them one. Sara advises them to take everything with a pinch of salt, because sometimes the vision isn’t what it seems. But, well, you know Yakov…”

“Now that I think about it, we all hit first and ask questions later, right?” Victor thought about Yuri attacking anyone who got too close, about Otabek getting too close anyway, about Georgi changing the performance to The Sleeping Prince after Anya left, about his own reaction to Yuuri at the cabinet…

Thankfully, Mila interrupted his train of thought.

“She told Yakov he was a man with many children, and that she could see one of his children was trapped, alone inside a silver cage.”

Victor’s breath hitched. No wonder they all knew it had been him. A silver cage indeed…

“Then you were not alone anymore,” Mila continued. “Even though there was a sea in between, a dark-haired man was looking at you… doing nothing while the bars of the cage tried to strangle you.”

Victor swallowed and noticed that his throat was parched.

“Then he started to get closer to you, but his face was surrounded by shadows, so Sara couldn’t tell who it was and Yakov got nervous. He started bellowing questions, and Sara tried to see his face, but she could only tell him that the mysterious man was inside the palace gardens at that moment… and that he would take his child away.”

“Fuck…”

Victor closed his eyes and hit the right armrest with his fist.

“Yeah, as you can imagine, Yakov didn’t take the news very well and stormed out as soon as he heard that, taking Georgi with him. I guess when he saw you with your date, he assumed it was the kidnapper.”

Victor looked at Mila and tried to be more eloquent. “Shit…”

Mila made an apologetic gesture in response.

Victor nodded. “I have to talk to Yakov.” He started to stand up, but had to sit back when he felt the hair pulling. “Can you help me with this?”

Mila was already folding the hair starting from the tips. She opened her mouth to say something, but Victor glared at her, and she turned back to folding the heavy threads of silver as if they were made of wool. Victor helped with the cart and, between the both of them, they finished quickly.

 

* * *

 

It was already after lunch when Victor finished talking to the cabinet master, and the conversation hadn’t ended on a positive note. Yakov had just refused to listen to reason.

As much as Victor had explained that Yuuri hadn’t been trying to steal his hair, Yakov had insisted that the young man was not to be trusted. Sara’s vision had confirmed that he just wanted to take Victor away for his own nefarious purposes, and Yakov would not allow them to be reunited.

Victor had left Yakov’s office to avoid yelling at the man and proving he couldn’t control his feelings, but there was nothing else he wanted to spend his afternoon on. The cabinet would be closed for the day —it always was after an exhibition—, so Victor returned to his own room thinking he could sleep until dinner.

The room was warm and full of light when he entered. One of the servants had made his bed and opened the balcony door. A ray of light fell across the wooden floor and over the empty surface of the dresser. Victor held his breath as he pushed the cart and pulled the upper drawer open. The black swan and the knife lay inside, and Victor exhaled in relief. He took the knife and briefly considered cutting his hair then and there. He’d sliced through a few hairs the previous night and tied them around Yuuri’s wrist, once his mind had assimilated that he wouldn’t be there when the man woke up, but it hadn’t been enough. He’d hoped Yuuri would accept them as a promise and an apology, but the answering silence had been deafening.

Victor would have sliced all his hair twice in a blink if he’d thought it would amount to anything, but as the anger disappeared he had nothing to push him forward. He exchanged the knife for the swan, closed the drawer, and carried himself to the balcony. As he sat there for an hour, he didn’t even look at the paper swan. He just held it in his hand while he stared at the gardens where the workers were gathering up all traces of the festival, leaving the place as empty as he felt.

“Aren’t you glad I came to brighten your bedroom?” A well-known voice spoke behind Victor with a clear sexual innuendo.

Victor turned his head and saw Christophe Giacometti posing not-so-casually as he leaned on the doorjamb. Victor wasn’t surprised to find the man, but wondered why he had to visit when he most wanted to be alone.

Christophe was a former member of the cabinet who’d left to become a travelling librarian. His memory was excellent, making him an amazing librarian and an insufferable gossip, but Victor wasn’t sure if that was a magical gift or a normal one. His true gift was the strength he possessed in the lower half of his body, unparalleled until they’d found Mila. His dancing performances had been renowned among the adult members of the audience, but the cabinet aspired to be kid-friendly, gruff tigers apart, and the man had moved to greener pastures. Victor sometimes envied his unobtrusive gifts. His felt like a curse.

“Chris! Hi,” Victor greeted. “I didn’t know you were working today.”

“I’m not. But you can always call on me if you have a need to see my goods.”

Victor ignored Christophe’s insinuations like he always did. The man was happily and faithfully married, but he coquetted as well as a philanderer. He treated all his friends and acquaintances the same way, and he still kept a few friends in the cabinet, so he visited the cabinet quite often. Victor was grateful, especially when his travelling library was with him. It was one of the few ways to keep in contact with the outside world, and it also provided him with entertainment to survive the tedious evenings he spent inside the cabinet.

“There’s no need,” Victor confessed. “I haven’t yet finished the last one you gave me.”

It was the book about the princess who’d lost her smile. The same one Yuuri had recovered when Victor’d dropped it at the cabinet. He’d completely forgotten about it, but he was already planning to cherish the book for the rest of his life.

“So you didn’t like it? Was I wrong to think you’d find it… relevant?” Christophe narrowed his eyes and got closer to Victor.

“You’re seldom wrong and you know it. I’d have finished it by now if it weren’t for…”

Christophe smirked. “Are you blushing, dear Victor? Who… I mean, what could have you so preoccupied?”

Victor proceeded to tell Christophe the whole story, since he’d hear it from Mila or Georgi anyway, and Victor saw his expression change from humorous to hesitant.

“If only he’d bothered to meet Yuuri before leaving him unconscious…” Victor muttered, mainly to himself. “But Yakov’s too stubborn. He’ll never acknowledge my ideas to prove that Yuuri is a good person. And I don’t have the means to contact Yuuri on my own.”

_Or to follow him to Wakoku_ , he added silently. But after parting on such bad terms, he knew he wouldn’t be easily forgiven. The only thing left to do was wait. Wait until it was time to fix his hair like a spiderweb for people he’d never met but he wanted to impress, wait until it was time to sleep always on the same side with the cart beside his bed in case of an emergency, wait until it was time to polish his hair for hours so no one would find a tarnished hair when they got too close and personal with it. Wait until he stopped being a novelty, if he still was, or until hairloss finally made him free. Wait day after day after day, just as he’d done all his life.

“Free days don’t agree with you, Victor,” Christophe said. “When you’re not working, I always find you here accompanied by your morose thoughts.”

Victor had been about to protest, to tell Christophe that he had a very good reason to feel morose, but the man stopped him with a gesture and explained himself.

“What I meant to say is that you’re a man of action. You’re impatient and you need to keep yourself busy. I can tell that you’d follow him to Wakoku if you could.”

Victor cocked his head. “So you think I should go even if I don’t know where he lives or whether he’ll welcome me.”

“Of course he’ll welcome you! You’re the silver beauty everyone dreams of!” Christophe’s smile was contagious.

“After Yakov ordered his expulsion and Georgi knocked him out?” Victor insisted.

“Minor details, surely.”

“Chris…” Victor shook his head, but the conversation had improved his mood greatly and he’d started to think that there might be hope where he couldn’t find any.

“What you need is a plan,” Christophe said. “And you have an amazing librarian who is willing to help you. I’ll start looking for books about Wakoku, and you make a list with everything you’ll need.”

“Chris, I…” Victor didn’t have words to communicate how grateful he was. “I could kiss you right now.”

“I know. I want to kiss myself all the time.” He winked. “Since it’s you, I’ll even let you take me to bed.”

In the end, it was Christophe who helped him get into bed, put his gold rimmed eyeglasses on, and read from one of the books he always carried around until Victor fell asleep.


End file.
